J. Landon Reeve has built a rosy legacy at Chapel Valley Landscape Co. What the plant lover started as a seedling 34 years ago has grown into a thriving company with three offices in Maryland and Virginia and more than 350 employees.

But this week, Reeve is giving up his role as chief executive officer and turning over operations to his son, James Reeve, who has run the company's Virginia division.

James Reeve said he hopes to increase profits by focusing more attention on consistency and efficiency.

"My main target is systems - how we do everything from planting trees to fueling trucks," he said. "We want to see that each job looks exactly the same."

Landon Reeve, 62, said he will remain at the company for a few years to help with the transition, but he expects his son to keep the business growing.

"One of my goals in life was ... to develop a company with a good reputation that could continue beyond myself," Landon Reeve said. "James has been more of a strategic planner. He's got more strengths in the business. His natural interest and involvement was running the business."

According to Landon Reeve, his son's management of the Virginia offices, with its strong commercial market, helped the company increase revenue by 25 percent last year.

And although James Reeve, 34, will take the helm of the company during uncertain economic times, he will not be burdened with a shrinking business. The Reeves say they expect the company's revenue to grow between 5 percent and 8 percent this year.

"Every year we seem to do a bit more business and add more people," Landon Reeve said.

A report by the Professional Lawn Care Association of America shows the growth of the landscaping industry and the increasing popularity of professional landscaping among homeowners. According to the report, U.S. homeowners turned to lawn-care and tree professionals in record numbers, and spent an unprecedented $17.4 billion on lawn care in 1999.

Residential work constitutes about 25 percent of Chapel Valley's business, with the company handling projects as simple as plantings and as ornate as sprawling gardens, patios and walkways. Commercial customers have included the Four Seasons Hotel and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, both in Washington. The company handles design, construction and maintenance. It also does irrigation, lighting and ponds.

Although Chapel Valley grew out of Landon Reeve's love for plants - the Baltimore County native spent summers working at a neighbor's garden center and later earned a degree in horticulture from the University of Maryland - James Reeve entered his father's business because he wanted to lead.

James Reeve, who holds a degree in business from Delaware Valley College, has worked his way through every department of the company, spending the past three years in the Virginia office, which has led the company's growth.

Landon Reeve said he has watched his son closely in every job as he groomed him to take over.

"He's had to prove himself," Landon Reeve said. "He's done a good job. That's what I've needed to see."

But he also will have to prove himself to longtime customers, who say expectations are high.

Clarke Langrall said Chapel Valley has done landscaping for his Baltimore County offices and his home for 25 years, and he has always been pleased with their work.

"[Landon Reeve] has just got a wide circle of satisfied clients and personnel," Langrall said. "When they say they'll be there Tuesday at 9, set your watch. The truck will pull in and unload, and everyone knows exactly and precisely what they're supposed to do. At the end of the day, the job is an absolutely a spectacular piece of work."

Ronald L. Eyre, president of Eyre Bus Service Inc. in Glenelg, said he has used Chapel Valley for 10 years to landscape and maintain the five acres surrounding his Woodbine home.

"I just like their work," he said. "They're consistent and reliable."